Notre Dame Football: 2013 OL Connor Moore, Born Fighting Irish

This year’s reigning Junior Rank Camp (Tempe) MVP, Connor Moore of Vero Beach, Fla., will attend Notre Dame's Lineman Showcase Camp this summer, where he'll square off against some of the best linemen in the country. Notre Dame is one of many stops on Moore's schedule this summer, as he will also camp at Miami, Northwestern, Rutgers, UNC, Wake Forest, Duke and Virginia.

Moore runs a 4.85 40, broad jumps 9' and projects as either an interior offensive lineman, a defensive end or linebacker at the next level.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Larry Zierlein thought so much of Moore's blocking technique, he recently used video of Moore's footwork at Football University Camp in Orlando as an example for his campers to follow.

The rising junior has four generations of Fighting Irish in his family. His great-grandfather, grandfather, father and brother all attended—or currently attend—Notre Dame. Further, his father's two brothers are both Notre Dame graduates.

Moore was a Fighting Irish fan from day one, right?

Well, not exactly.

"I was a big University of Miami fan until I was about 10, so my family didn’t really like that," said Moore. "When I was nine, though, I remember watching a Notre Dame game with my dad and grandpa, and I loved how excited were through the whole game. Things changed after that."

Moore has grown up in what could be called a typical Notre Dame household, where everyone is ecstatic when the Fighting Irish win on Saturday, and less-than-thrilled when they lose.

The young man's days as a Hurricane fan are long over, but he does have deep ties to an older Irish foe—the University of Michigan. Both of his grandmothers spent their college years in Ann Arbor. How does this factor into Moore's college preference?

"If both schools offered me football scholarships, I would think long and hard about which school I would choose," said Moore. "Playing football at Notre Dame has been my dream since I was nine years old, but I would have no problem playing for the Wolverines."

"I think my family would accept it if I went to Michigan over Notre Dame," said Moore. "My dad would be perplexed at first, and I would have a long interview process through him. He told me long ago that he would make me think about it if I turned down a Notre Dame offer."

Being offered a football scholarship by the two most storied football programs in the country would be a nice problem for Moore to have, and to be sure, he will weigh much more into his decision than just football. Carrying a 4.1 GPA and a 1250 SAT (1740 combined score), he's a student-athlete in every sense of the word.

Moore also factors faith into his college plans, which could put Notre Dame in the driver's seat for his services.

"My dad always described Notre Dame as a place where I would fit in well, as someone who will continue to be a practicing Catholic in college," Moore said. "There’s a strong connection at Notre Dame for me as far as beliefs and the way the students hold each other to a higher standard."